Ghanaian Adolescents’ Early Sexual Activity: GSS Report Shows Concerning Patterns

Early Sexual Activity in Adolescent

One in ten teenage girls between the ages of 10 and 19 had sex before reaching 15, according to a recent Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) research. Despite years of education and prevention efforts, early sexual debut remains a persistent concern, as evidenced by this data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS).

Principal Results of the Report According to the data, 10.2% of teenage girls had sex before the age of 15, which is a minor decrease from 12% in 1993. However, considering the many awareness programs that have been conducted over the previous thirty years, this decrease is regarded as insignificant. The Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina, presented the study, “Adolescent Risky Behavior,” in Accra.

Other concerning statistics from the report include:

15.2% of teenage girls had experienced pregnancy.
4% reported pregnancy loss.
10.9% had already become mothers.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have also become more common in teenagers. The prevalence of STIs increased from 2.2% to 7.1% in girls aged 15 to 19 and from 2.2% to 12.5% in boys between 2003 and 2022.

District and Regional Dissection The areas with the greatest rates of early sexual activity are highlighted in the research. Adolescent girls who started having sex before the age of sixteen were most prevalent in the Ashanti Region. Among the best districts are:

Akrofuom (42.07%)
South Amansie (41.4%)
Central Amansie (40.97%)

Similarly, Upper Manya Krobo (35.7%) had the highest rate of teenage boys having sex before the age of sixteen in the Eastern Region.

Additionally, the study pinpointed areas where teenagers had several sexual partners. The most incidences were found in the Bono and Western North Regions among girls between the ages of 15 and 19. With a predominance of 38.7%, Dormaa East was in first place, closely followed by Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai (37.5%) and Dormaa Central (37.7%).

The Oti Region had the most instances for males in the same age range, with all nine of its districts being in the top 10.

Demands for Intervention Speaking about the results, Child Rights International Executive Director Bright Appiah called the situation concerning. To stop the rising tendency, he underlined the necessity of more intensive education and legislative measures.

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